The Masai lion arrived at the Palmyre zoo after being seized from a private person. – F. Perroux / Palmyre Zoo
Trafficking in exotic species is all the rage and a lion cub named Masai has paid the price. In 2016, he had been recovered illegally by an individual who could not offer him a suitable environment or the presence of congeners, essential for lions, the most social felines.
This is explained by the Palmyre zoo, which has just welcomed the young lion after he was taken care of, at the age of eight months, by the association
Tonga land of welcome, a refuge for seized or abandoned animals, and that it was housed for a time by the zoological space of Saint Martin la Plaine.
In an enclosure with a lioness
He was there alone when for the first time, at La Palmyre, he will enjoy the company of Sheena, a 12-year-old lioness. “He has adapted well and they get along very well,” reports the zoo’s communication department to 20 minutes, a few days after the arrival of the young lion. However, no lion cubs are the key in this story since the Palmyra “does not have the vocation to reproduce this species”. The young male is therefore vasectomized.
“Remember that wild animals are not pets, wrote the zoo in a Facebook post. Once adults, their management becomes much more delicate and they are then often forced to spend the rest of their lives in small cages, deprived of any contact with their congeners, which leads to both physical and psychological trauma. “